The annexes for Kyoto Protocol are fairly important parts of the document. The entire issue of greenhouse gases is a lot bigger than most people realize. I suppose if an American is trying to tie the knot with the man of her dreams there are few that stop to wonder what the PPMs of CO2 are this year.
Perfluorocarbon (PFC) is listed separately from CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) because they are chemically different. CFCs degrade the high altitude ozone layer and PFCs do not. PFCs are used in refrigeration because the CFCs were outlawed from use at all.
The problem with PFCs is the fact they are a very stable compound that also traps heat within Earth's troposphere.
The idea of what country is the most polluting can be somewhat manipulated to the public's understanding, so I want to clear this up.
Let's say the USA and China are both spewing the same amount of CO2 everyday. There is an article from December 2, 2012 (click here) stating the USA emits 2.4 million pounds per second of CO2.
So, as an example let's just say both China and the USA both emit 2.4 million pounds of CO2 per second. Who is emitting more? Identical right? But, if it is reported differently, what is the PER CAPITA emissions between the two countries. The USA has more than 300 million people, but, in keeping the math simple it will be 300 million people. That would make the USA per capita emission per second of CO2 0.008 pound.
China had a population in 2010 of 1.381 billion people. For the sake of simplicity I'll just say China has a billion people. China's per capita emission per second of CO2 is 0.0024 pound.
USA - 0.0080 pounds per second per capita
China - 0.0024 pounds per second per capita
If decimals drive you crazy let's just multiple both numbers by 1000.
USA - 0.0080 X 1000 = 8.0
China - 0.0024 X 1000 = 2.4
It looks as though the USA emits more than China when in fact they are the same according to this simplistic illustration. They are different per capita because China has far more people than the USA. What is the best type of reporting? Per capita or total emissions? I think total emissions is a far better method of reporting and while keeping countries on the same standard. Standards in greenhouse gas reporting are very important.
Why is total better than per capita? Does per capita show responsibility per person for their emissions? Yes and no, primarily no. It is a good idea to have each person globally measure their carbon foot print and in that way referring to per capita can inspire folks. But, in all sincere reality, to divide the total emissions of a country into per capita is assigning far higher carbon emissions than one person emits in their daily lives. The carbon emissions of a country encompass industry as well as person, etc.
Besides the focus has to be total emissions so each country can discover where the emissions are coming from and make necessary changes.
In understanding emissions is to understand the real culprit to all these problems with greenhouse gases, why is it the petroleum industry isn't the least bit interested in containing emissions? I am not saying the petroleum industry should have been fashioning a method of CO2 collection for every car on the road. But, what I am saying is that the petroleum industry has been completely irreverent to the science. They don't contain even methane emissions today from fracking wells. There is no excuse for that. The entire petroleum industry in the USA have no desire or intentions to prevent leaking methane from wells. That illustrates the profound disregard for not just the science of the climate crisis, but, the lives of the people the climate crisis changes on a regular basis. These are not tornadoes that occur once in a blue moon; they are happening all the time.
I want to return for a moment to the entry that stated 2005 saw no tornadoes in May. 2005 was the year of the highest number of hurricanes in the Atlantic on record. On this blog I have stated when there are few hurricanes there are more tornadoes and when there are more hurricanes there are less tornadoes. It is all a matter of how Earth's physics handles heat from year to year. At least that is the way it was during the years 2005 and earlier.
I made mention of H20 (water) as a greenhouse gas that will be covered here. It will be, but, it is far more complex in it's role as a greenhouse gas, so I will save it for after Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
Since this is the last entry for tonight I'd like to make a note that Maurice White (click here for his official website), the lead singer for "Earth, Wind and Fire," passed away this year. Maurice White was a highly acclaimed musician with multiple awards to his name. He'll be missed.
Thank you for visiting.
Perfluorocarbon (PFC) is listed separately from CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) because they are chemically different. CFCs degrade the high altitude ozone layer and PFCs do not. PFCs are used in refrigeration because the CFCs were outlawed from use at all.
The problem with PFCs is the fact they are a very stable compound that also traps heat within Earth's troposphere.
The idea of what country is the most polluting can be somewhat manipulated to the public's understanding, so I want to clear this up.
Let's say the USA and China are both spewing the same amount of CO2 everyday. There is an article from December 2, 2012 (click here) stating the USA emits 2.4 million pounds per second of CO2.
So, as an example let's just say both China and the USA both emit 2.4 million pounds of CO2 per second. Who is emitting more? Identical right? But, if it is reported differently, what is the PER CAPITA emissions between the two countries. The USA has more than 300 million people, but, in keeping the math simple it will be 300 million people. That would make the USA per capita emission per second of CO2 0.008 pound.
China had a population in 2010 of 1.381 billion people. For the sake of simplicity I'll just say China has a billion people. China's per capita emission per second of CO2 is 0.0024 pound.
USA - 0.0080 pounds per second per capita
China - 0.0024 pounds per second per capita
If decimals drive you crazy let's just multiple both numbers by 1000.
USA - 0.0080 X 1000 = 8.0
China - 0.0024 X 1000 = 2.4
It looks as though the USA emits more than China when in fact they are the same according to this simplistic illustration. They are different per capita because China has far more people than the USA. What is the best type of reporting? Per capita or total emissions? I think total emissions is a far better method of reporting and while keeping countries on the same standard. Standards in greenhouse gas reporting are very important.
Why is total better than per capita? Does per capita show responsibility per person for their emissions? Yes and no, primarily no. It is a good idea to have each person globally measure their carbon foot print and in that way referring to per capita can inspire folks. But, in all sincere reality, to divide the total emissions of a country into per capita is assigning far higher carbon emissions than one person emits in their daily lives. The carbon emissions of a country encompass industry as well as person, etc.
Besides the focus has to be total emissions so each country can discover where the emissions are coming from and make necessary changes.
In understanding emissions is to understand the real culprit to all these problems with greenhouse gases, why is it the petroleum industry isn't the least bit interested in containing emissions? I am not saying the petroleum industry should have been fashioning a method of CO2 collection for every car on the road. But, what I am saying is that the petroleum industry has been completely irreverent to the science. They don't contain even methane emissions today from fracking wells. There is no excuse for that. The entire petroleum industry in the USA have no desire or intentions to prevent leaking methane from wells. That illustrates the profound disregard for not just the science of the climate crisis, but, the lives of the people the climate crisis changes on a regular basis. These are not tornadoes that occur once in a blue moon; they are happening all the time.
I want to return for a moment to the entry that stated 2005 saw no tornadoes in May. 2005 was the year of the highest number of hurricanes in the Atlantic on record. On this blog I have stated when there are few hurricanes there are more tornadoes and when there are more hurricanes there are less tornadoes. It is all a matter of how Earth's physics handles heat from year to year. At least that is the way it was during the years 2005 and earlier.
I made mention of H20 (water) as a greenhouse gas that will be covered here. It will be, but, it is far more complex in it's role as a greenhouse gas, so I will save it for after Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
Since this is the last entry for tonight I'd like to make a note that Maurice White (click here for his official website), the lead singer for "Earth, Wind and Fire," passed away this year. Maurice White was a highly acclaimed musician with multiple awards to his name. He'll be missed.
Thank you for visiting.
